3DS Max CAT Rigging Tips?

When creating a CAT rig, is there any info I should know before I construct it that Unity requires from imported rigs? Ive been hearing that I may have to collapse my IK before importing into unity, and that Unitys Biped system would actually be better then importing a CAT biped rig. There really isnt alotta clear info on the net about this.

 

for current game, i m working on at frag games (company). we used 80% biped, 6 to 8 characters and for 20% used CAT..
it went OK with CAT. actually animations were slightly easier to deal with comparing to biped. but rigs have some minor techy stuff involved in. unless you are familiar with thse. it becomes problamatic.

its hard to explain here. but let me give you small example.
typically, i animate upper torso ( spine , head, arms ) via fk unless or until required IK in some case where plantation of hands are required etc.
in biped its all done / managed automatically. you totally don't have to remember how to move / rotate anything, just do it and it will work. basically, it will manage single key on an arm. key can be of different types but its single key for hand/forearm/upperarm/clavical
in cat its not like this. its like typicaly 3d software like blender or maya rigs. where you can switch to IK or FK.
confuses arises, because in FK mode, you can actually select hand bone and move it and keyframe it. plus it won't care IK plane nicely. so you have to be very careful while animating. once you develop good habbit of taking care such minor issues. rest is good.
i have to say, retargetting is still not as mature in cat as its in biped.
goodluck, happy animating

 

I read in another topic that I would have to collapse my CAT rigs IK - but your message suggests thats not the case, could anyone else fill me in on this?

 

I have put together a post that might be of some use for anyone fighting with the CAT rig.

This setup allows for a clean export to Unity with no issues for my pipeline.

Any feedback in the comments of my post would great.

http://www.basemesh.info/3dsmax-cat-rigging-tips-for-characters-in-unity3d-mechanim/